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Builder of Worlds

By G G Collins (Copyright 2019)

I never expected to be a builder of worlds and yet I’ve written two books where I needed to do just that.

Time travel is always tricky, but it’s also fun. In Lemurian Medium I sent protagonist Rachel Blackstone back in time via astral travel to the mythical continent of Lemuria. I began reading about the continent that reportedly sunk into the ocean when a cataclysmic series of earthquakes and volcanoes broke up the island country and the sea claimed it.

When you ask people to buy into a paranormal or fantasy story line, it’s important to include as much fact as possible, to lend integrity to the story. I began reading the works of Colonel James Churchward, who called Lemuria by another name; Mu. He studied monastery sources in India while serving in the British army.

After getting a basic idea of Churchward’s theories I read Frank Joseph’s book The Lost Civilization of Lemuria: The Rise and Fall of the World’s Oldest Culture. There are many creation stories and Lemuria is one for that part of the world. There is a museum in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan called the Mu Museum and is a tribute to the Motherland. In the Hawaiian Ethnic Art Museum in Oahu there are carvings that seem to verify the existence of a golden race who survived the onrush of the sea.

Click Read Review

Reputed to contain the history of the ancients.

To make the city realistic I researched the Romans from their garments to their communal toilets. In addition I read Shirley MacLaine’s dreams of Lemuria as she related them in her excellent book The Camino: A Journey of the Spirit. Her description of the Lemurians—some golden, some violet, and hermaphroditic—let imagination work on that. For homes, I went with crystal construction with private areas being opaque. Rachel was surprised to learn she could communicate either from her mind or with the use of Lemurian seed crystals and crystal balls.

I needed a villain in spirit and chose Quetzalcoatl, a Mayan god who liked to dine on humans. It is thought that Lemurians who survived the end of their homeland took to the vast sea and made their way to what is known today as Central American and to the southwestern part of the US.

When my research was complete I was no longer certain that Lemuria was a myth. I hope readers of the book can entertain that possibility as well.

While writing “Lemurian Medium” I went to the NASA website and looked at photos taken by Voyager to describe the planets as Reluctant Medium Rachel Blackstone took an astral journey to save a kidnapped friend.

Doing the research for this novel was quite fun. I ran across some notable people, namely Carl Sagan and Benjamin Franklin who both apparently believed in the possible existence of extraterrestrial life.

I wanted something lighthearted to occur during Rachel’s escape as it was quite tense at times. When she burst onto the astral plane she discovered it wasn’t the same plane she arrived on. But this level had a twist. There was a celestial cocktail party going on!

As she observed the varied types of aliens in all shapes and sizes, drinking colorful cocktails in odd vessels, and then she spied some humans like herself. There was Sagan and Franklin talking with beings from other worlds.

I wanted to honor them in some small way. Sagan was of hero of mine. Through him I became interested in the cosmos because he made it accessible. Cheers!

Within seconds the serpent stood up and filled out as if he’d been formed from air blown in from a bicycle pump. But he wasn’t a balloon and didn’t float away. Chile Pod watched with huge eyes. Her fur stood up on her back, ears flat, she dove under the tablecloth and onto a chair. The snake didn’t miss a thing and knew exactly where she hid. He made sure Rachel saw where she cowered by slithering across the floor and nosing at the tablecloth. Then he turned his attention to Rachel.

“I am Quetzalcoatl,” he said as the green substance dripped from each of his fangs. They were six inches long and dagger sharp. The odor of sulfur emanated from his hobnail skin as it grated against itself. He was constantly in slow motion. The stench itself was enough to make her want to flee, but the continuous shifting of his spine beneath the scales was sinister.

Quetzalcoatl feathered serpent form as depicted in the Codex Telleriano-Remensi. Wikimedia Public Domain

“I know who you are,” Rachel tried to say it with strength. Everything in her told her to run, but she couldn’t leave Chloe or Chile. She resisted the urge to recoil, feeling intensely this time the reptile’s desire to harm her. He barely controlled his desire to destroy her.

It rippled and swelled in both height and width. His feathers unfolded around his head, back and tail. The effect was even more menacing this time.

“Screaming won’t help you,” it said reading her thoughts.

“How do you know?”

“I am a deity,” Quetzalcoatl said in a deep hoarse voice. Add a little cinematic CGI and he would make Bruce Willis run and hide. Only this monster was real.

“Rachel,” Chloe stood in the doorway not understanding why Rachel was talking or to whom. “Who are you talking to?”

“Can’t you see the snake? He’s right here in the kitchen.”

“No, I can’t see it, but I can see you and you’re. . .”

“Never mind,” Rachel stopped her not wanting the self-proclaimed deity to know she was about to freak.

“What do you want?” she asked Quetzalcoatl.

“Once again, you called me?”

“Are you sure about that?”

“I do have a message,” it said.

Oh god, she thought, what now?

The snake’s head began to morph before her. In a few moments, it took on more human characteristics, but the fangs remained. She wondered how many more tricks he had.

“Does this look make you more comfortable? You know, lions eat their own kind.” It deliberately turned its head to look at the small tortoiseshell cat peaking from beneath the table; the only thing that separated her tiny cat from this snake-god was a piece of fabric.

“Chloe, would you please take Chile out of the room.”

“Of course.” Chloe reached under the table and pulled out the scared kitty, cupping her tiny body in her arm. Before she could exit the kitchen, Quetzalcoatl rose up and struck out in their direction.

“Run Chloe!” Chloe did, all the way to her car where she locked the doors and held Chile Pod in her lap. She petted her with shaking hands. “Did you see it?” she asked the cat, but couldn’t understand when Chile told her she had.

Back in the kitchen Rachel said, “Tell me the message and get the hell out.”

“My dear, you must not speak to a deity in that manner. You know I’ve eaten Homo sapiens many times. You’re all quite tasty.” He was eyeing her as something on the menu. He sniffed like a dog checking out a piece of meat. “You have my favorite blood type: red. I find it to be as satisfying as a fine Bordeaux.”

Rachel shuddered. She softened her tone. It pissed her off to do it, but she had to get rid of this raw material for making boots. “Please tell me the message.”

“Much nicer. Was that so hard? I said before they want the artist, but that was diversionary. They want you. You were supposed to enter the picture, not the other woman.”

“Is Stella all right?”

“For now, she is safe. I see you are perplexed. Humans get confused easily. It is a defect.”

“Why do they want me, and who are they?”

“Enough for now. I’ll allow you to digest this information.”

Rachel wanted Quetzalcoatl to go and never return, but she had to know.

“Please answer my questions.” And she blanched when she heard her voice break.

That was when she heard the low growl behind her. She was certain it was the wolf, but took a moment to check for him. Nothing. And when she turned back to the snake, there was nothing but a necklace lying on the floor. “Stupid, stupid!” Rachel berated herself. “Of course it was the wolf. He was warning me to be careful and what do I do? Take my eyes off the monster!”

Her hands shook as she opened the front door and motioned to Chloe that it was safe to return.

She took Chile from Chloe and held her in arms that continued to tremble. Tears threatened. Chloe guided her gently to the sofa where they sat quietly for a few minutes. Rachel began to shiver uncontrollably.

“Are you okay?” Chloe asked.

“Yes, I guess.”

“Of course you’re not okay,” Chloe said softly. “You’re scared half to death. I’m scared half to death and I couldn’t see a thing, only you reacting to it.

“Maybe you shouldn’t take a chance on astral travel,” Chloe said. “I’m getting a real bad feeling about this whole thing.”

“But doesn’t this make it even more imperative that I learn to do it? We can’t just leave Stella there, wherever that is. We have to try to rescue her and discover what this is all about.” Rachel wiped angrily at a tear.

“I’m not leaving you tonight,” Chloe said. “We’re going to have some of that weed right now and then I’m sleeping here on the couch. No protesting.”

“No problem. Would you go replace the necklace in that damn envelope?”

“Will we be safe then?” Chloe asked.

“I don’t know if we’ll ever be safe again. The rules have changed, I fear irreparably.”

David Chuka–Children’s Book Author, Interviews G G Collins

David Chuka, Children’s Book Author & Blogger

My thanks to David for an insightful interview. I think a journalist spirit lurks within this children’s book author (another life?). I enjoyed answering his questions. For more on sneaky reporter tactics, Brussels sprouts and oh yeah, writing the Rachel Blackstone Paranormal Mysteries, here is the link.

Check out his Web site and books from If You See a Doctor to Kojo the Seadragon Gets Lost with lots of colorful stories in between. I’m partial to the seadragon as I write about dragons in Lemurian Medium–a fellow traveler? Check them out here.

Walking a Labyrinth for Personal and Spiritual

Enlightenment

In the forthcoming “Atomic Medium” Rachel Blackstone, the Reluctant Medium, walks a labyrinth for insight into the mystery that will take her back to 1945 and The Manhattan Project.

by G G Collins (Copyright 2014)

Labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral, France, Wikipedia Commons

Much like pyramids, labyrinths have been found all over the world although their origins have been lost in the sands of time. During the middle ages, Catholic churches featured labyrinths. For repentance, believers walked the passages on their knees. Even today churches with labyrinths may ask their members to walk the labyrinth during church holidays. One of the oldest and most beautiful labyrinths is the one at Chartres Cathedral outside Paris. It was constructed about 1200 and is located inside.

Newer information suggests that walking a labyrinth enhances right-brain thinking. People in the creative fields of writing, art, performance arts, may find their work improves and ideas flow after walking the circuits.

Medieval Pattern Labyrinth, Wikipedia Commons

The circuit is the path one follows after entering the labyrinth. It is good to note that labyrinths are not mazes. There are no high walls outlining a labyrinth and no dead ends. Labyrinths do not put obstructions on the path. You enter the labyrinth and simply follow the paths round and round until you reach the center.

Here’s a fun way to experience a labyrinth in cyber space. The Labyrinth Society has provided the Virtual Labyrinth Walk, an online version. It allows you to choose six different “walks,” each with its own symbol for focus. This may be done as a mouse-driven or self-guided walk. Along the way calming music plays. From time to time you may stop and choose a meditation to inspire you. Click on this link:

Labyrinths can be constructed of earth, outlining the circuits with stone, brick or concrete for a more organic feel. But contemporary labyrinths are beautiful as well. This one at the International Museum of Folk Art in Santa Fe is made from tinted stone. The colors indicate where to walk. The surface is completely flat allowing wheelchairs to access the labyrinth. The Milner Plaza labyrinth is a 7-circuit pattern designed by Allan T. Baer of Lloyd Tryk Architects and built by Marty Kermeen.

“Reluctant Medium” Now Found on Two Top 100 Lists

Mystery>Supernatural>Werewolves & Shifters

Mystery>Cozy>Animals

Caution for Cozy Readers: “Reluctant Medium” does contain profanity and some mild horror, so if you’re a cozy purest, it may not be for you. But it also contains humor, adventure and of course, all sorts of paranormal story lines.

In the Rachel Blackstone Paranormal Mystery Series, Rachel meets with a different challenge in each book. In “Reluctant Medium” it’s an shape-shifting evil spirit. The second installment, “Lemurian Medium,” is an encounter with a Mesoamerican man-eating deity. In upcoming “Atomic Medium,” it is alien beings. Set during current day and The Manhattan Project during the 1940s, the tentative pub date is December 2014. The fourth will be “Anasazi Medium” where Rachel stumbles onto spirits while camping out with friend Chloe–if you can imagine Chloe camping out? She’s sure to have it catered.

At the heart of each book is the friendship between Rachel and Chloe as they work together to solve each supernatural mystery. Their assortment of “experts” continues to grow as they’ve expanded into crystals, astral and time travel. And Rachel will continue to have those strange experiences in bathrooms during the present and past.

Her cat Chile Pod and spirit animal Kiyiya try to watch out for Rachel, who remains reluctant.

Again, a big “thank you” to all readers who have taken the time to read the Rachel Blackstone Paranormal Mysteries. And an extra thanks to all who made the time to write reviews. I appreciate it beyond words.

How Far Would You Go to Rescue a Friend?

FREE May 29 & 30, 2014 at Amazon

Rachel Blackstone, the Reluctant Medium, travels through time to a place known only by legend. She finds herself on a continent destined to sink beneath the sea. While some of the inhabitants seem friendly, there are others with decidedly violent temperaments. Can she find her friend before cataclysmic events prevent their escape? Find out free. Thank you for reading.

G G Collins Talks Rachel Blackstone, Writing & Shoes

If you haven’t found OmniMystery News yet, click on their banner above and take a look. You’ll meet authors you love and find new ones who will become favorites. Check out book reviews, interviews, mystery blogs and the Mystery Event Calendar. Lance Wright, who must be an action hero to keep up with all the irons in the mystery fire, is the man behind it all. This includes Hidden Staircase Mystery Books and Mysterious Reviews.

Excerpt from interview with G G Collins:

OMN: If you could travel anywhere in the world, all expenses paid, to research the setting for a book, where would it be?

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